It's all coming back to me now
by JarOfHearts1984
Summary: Following a vicious attack in prison Peter loses his memory and can only remember selected things from the past year, subsequently he still thinks he is married to Carla and that they are still expecting a baby. Will Carla help piece his fragmented mind back and in doing so will she end up falling back in love with the man she married?
1. Chapter 1

In prison Peter is subjected to a vicious assault by a drugged up prisoner, after been stabbed and beaten he also suffered a head injury and has forgotten huge chunks of the past eight months or so but can recall others.

Deirdre looked bemused as her stepson looked at her wide-eyed from the hospital bed where his arm was secured by a cuff to a prison officer. "What?"  
"Carla, where is she? Baby giving her grief is it. I swear that little girl of ours is determined to give her mother the run around even whilst she's still in her womb." He said as Deirdre bit her lip awkwardly. "Peter love, don't you remember?"  
"Remember what? I bet I've screwed up again haven't I. Did I start drinking again, is that why I'm cuffed to Mr Happy over there." Peter said looking at the burly prison officer who simply rolled his eyes and turned back to his paper. "She's more stubborn than ever with the pregnancy you know but she knows I love her right?" Peter said as Deirdre sat unsure what to say. How could she break it to him that his wife was filing for divorce and his precious little girl was no more. Ken returned carrying three polystyrene cups of coffee from the vending machine. "He is allowed this right?" He asked for confirmation from the guard sat on a plastic chair who nodded slightly. "Dad, has Carla called?"Peter ventured as Ken raised his eyebrows at his wife who gave him a look to tell him not to say anything about how Peter and Carla's marriage was no more. "Erm no, I think she said she might be at a meeting."  
"I've told her to slow things down, I mean it can't be doing her good stressing out all the time, the baby won't like her mum getting wound up." Peter said as Ken looked worriedly at Deirdre. "Peter, do you know why you're in hospital?"  
"Well I thought I must have been drinking, no doubt doing something to get me into trouble with the plod. God Carla's going to be majorly angry when she finds out." Peter said wincing a little as he rubbed the large bruise above his eyebrow. Dr Kellerman smiled slightly as he looked at the stats been printed from a monitor on Peter's bedside. "Erm Doctor can I have a quick word?" Ken said as he set his cup down on the side table.  
"Of course." The doctor replied as he marked down some notes on a clipboard at the foot of Peter's bed. "In private if it's possible." Ken said as the doctor nodded and headed out to the corridor with Ken following.

"So how can I help Mr Barlow? Your son is still going to take a while to recover, a broken rib almost punctured a lung, he has a deep wound to his side and I do want to do a MIR scan as I am concerned about the head injury he received." The doctor said as Ken sighed.  
"His head injury is what I wanted to speak to you about. He erm, he seems to have lost some of his memory. He can remember certain things but he's asking for his estranged wife and still thinks she's pregnant when she miscarried the baby. What should we do?" Ken asked as the doctor scratched his head deep in thought.  
"So there's no sign of it been specifically short-term or long-term memory loss?"  
"I don't know but he thinks Carla is still his wife, and pregnant. Should we tell him that's not the case?"  
"No sir, that could be detrimental. Is there any way that you could persuade Mrs Barlow to come and visit Peter. Perhaps seeing her might rejig his memory somewhat." The doctor said as Ken frowned slightly. The last time he had spoken to Carla she had said she wanted nothing more to do with Peter Barlow but he sensed she wouldn't be willing to have Peter not know what had happened.

"Car, come on you best not be thinking about that cheating, murdering scumbag." Rob said as he looked at his sister sat deep in thought at a table in the cafe.  
"Oi you, that's me brother you're talking about!" Tracey said somewhat protectively. Sure she didn't see how it couldn't be Peter who was Tina's murderer but it still upset her that he was going to end up in prison. "Well it's true." Rob argued as he took a seat opposite Carla who was stabbing a jacket potato repeatedly with her fork. "Carla?" Rob ventured again and she looked up, her eyes dark as though she had not slept well.  
"He al..almost died."  
"And he's not your problem anymore." Rob ventured as Tracey went to get him and herself some tea. Carla bit her lip as tears rose to her green eyes.  
"No, doesn't mean I don't worry though does it." She said as Rob rolled his eyes.  
"Seriously Car, that man screwed you over big time and you're wasting your tears over him."/span/p  
"I loved him Rob! I loved him." She uttered as her voice faltered and she let out a muffled sob. "What if he's not alright? I...I yelled at Deirdre when she rang said why would I care whether he was alright or not."  
"Well I don't blame you. You're trying to move on with your life Car. Last thing you need is been reminded of that loser!" Rob said as a hot cup of tea was placed in front of him.


	2. Chapter 2

Ken watched as Peter's lashes flickered against his cheek as he succumbed to sleep, aided in part by the painkillers he was been administered by a IV drip. "What did the doctor say then?" Deirdre asked as she sipped her warm tea, her eyes peering up from beneath her glasses. "About what?" Ken asked as Deirdre rolled her eyes at her husband.  
"About this ones memory, you don't think he's in some kind of denial do you? Maybe it's easier for him to just forget about Tina and everything." She said trying to think of logical reasons as to why Peter seemed to believe that he and Carla were still married and happy. "The doctor thinks he's hurt part of his brain when he fell and it does seem plausible. However he did say that telling him the reality of things immediately might not be good for him."  
"But how can we explain why Carla's not here. Before well before Tina she adored him and would have been sat beside his bedside keeping vigil." Deirdre said as she looked tired. "No offence but well when I rang to say he was here she didn't sound like she cared too much. I'm not sure she'll be keen to come and help." Deirdre said as Ken nodded. After some slight reservations about his son and Carla he had become fond of the brunette and Peter cheating on her had perhaps surprised him more than anything on his return from Canada. He sensed that despite her talk of not wanting anything more to do with Peter, that Carla still had some feelings for her estranged husband.

"Hey you." A voice said as there was a gentle tap on the door to the office and Carla looked up, irritatedly before mustering a small smile for her friend.  
"Hey Chelle. What can I do for you?"  
"I just thought you might appreciate a bit of company." Michelle said as she held a takeaway cup of coffee from Roy's. "That and some decent caffine." She said as Carla saved the spreadsheet she was working on and turned to her friend. "So this a spontaneous visit or you happen to have been speaking to my brother?" She ventured as she opened the lid to the coffee and smiled at the scent of freshly brewed coffee. "Well he may have come into the Rovers chuntering about how even in a prison cell that Peter still manages to make you cry." Michelle said gently as she sat opposite her friend gauging how Carla reacted to her words.  
"He's not in a prison cell, he's in hospital." Carla said as she raked a hand through her brown hair and shook her head slightly. "How can he still manage it Chelle. I tried, I swear to get him out of my head bu...but I can't." She sniffed slightly as Michelle reached out her hand gently to take her friends. "You think I'm an idiot right, Rob does." Carla said as Michelle wrinkled her nose slightly.  
"Rob's dating Tracey, hardly reckon his opinion counts for too much." She said with a chuckle as Carla chuckled a little.

"I have to try and persuade her to come and see him love, I don't know how else to break it to him and I'm not sure he'd believe it from me or you. It has to be Carla who tells him."  
"Erm no offence love but don't you think he might figure out she's not pregnant." Deirdre said softly, her heart breaking for Carla and Peter's baby daughter who had been a late miscarriage at 17 weeks. Ken furrowed his brow slightly as he pondered on that fact momentarily. "Possibly, possibly not. I mean Carla's always been slender and he might not register it immediately. He will have to find out eventually though. But right now he needs to see Carla."  
"Well good luck getting her to come and visit him. I mean you could hardly blame her if she declined to come along." Deirdre mused as Ken frowned, deep lines in his forehead. "I know that but I have to try and make her see that whatever anger she has, she's probably the only person right now who can help Peter remember." Ken said.

Carla rubbed her temple as she ran through some latest cost sheets and tried to make sense of all the figures. It was strange the solitude of the office now, no Michelle to giggle with or note how the next meeting was with some jerk who spent most of the time with his eyes focused on one or other of their chests. No Peter to grin adorably over at her from the desk opposite, sat looking suave in his suits, making daft jokes every now and then. No the only sound in the office now was the ticking of the wall clock. There was a light knock at the office door and she looked up to see Sally cautiously open the door. "Mrs Ba...Connor. Erm you have a visitor." She said mentally kicking herself at her mistake as she watched Cara's expression falter a little as she was almost called her married name. "Oh I wasn't expecting anyone." Carla said as she regained her usual cool exterior. "It's Ken. Do you want me to show him in?" Sally ventured as Carla nodded slightly. She might have said she didn't care two jots if Peter lived or died but that wasn't true. Not by a long shot. Whatever had happened he had at one point saved her from the edge and he had a son who desperately needed his father. "Would you put the kettle on as well please Sal." Carla said as she smiled weakly at a tired-looking Ken who slowly entered the office looking as though he had aged several years in the past few days.


End file.
